Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

Today Judah learned a very important lesson.  Oreos are best eaten when dipped in milk. Mmm....

I've been doing quite a bit of reading lately thanks to my kindle and our local library. Here is some of what I've read: In the middle school/elementary category: 1. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson - I actually read this entire series a few months ago and couldn't put them down. The author is the son of Doug Wilson, a well-known pastor/author. These are such great books full of adventure, drama, and truth. Christian elements are present but not in a cheesy or forced way. I think anyone would enjoy it, but I do think it's an especially great book that boys would enjoy. Here are the second and third books in the series as well. 2. The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making by Catherine Valente is another fantasy/quest/adventure story that is somewhat reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, but in a less creepy and stoned sort of way. 3. the Girl who Ruled Fairyland - for a Little While is a short novel that is a prequel to the previous book an...

Remember that quilt that I started almost 18 months ago? The one I hoped to finish by Judah's first birthday?? I actually got the top finished this week! The pile of fabric has been mocking me long enough so this weekend I decided that I was going to finish it. I realized tonight that I made it a little too long, so I'm going to take off the bottom row. I'll probably use the extras to make a pillow sham or two to go with it. My goal is to have it totally done by his birthday. We'll see if that happens.... Reading the last post I wrote about this quilt makes me wonder about my math skills. Last time I decided I needed 80 (!!) quilt squares total. I can't, for the life of me, figure out where I got that number. Because I actually needed only 48. Perhaps I should have had someone check over my calculation for how many yards of fabric I needed for the back before I ordered it tonight.... I have just realized that although I like the idea of quilting and like the...

This week's fun: 1. Cookie dough truffles . I made these for Jeff's valentines present in addition to some Oreo truffles. I think he preferred the Oreo ones, which was fantastic for me since that meant I could eat a few of them. They taste just like raw cookie dough dipped in chocolate, which is another way of saying that you should make them soon. 2. Headbands ! I saw this pin, liked what I saw, and within 30 minutes I had two made. Easy project and a great way to repurpose an old shirt. I love the satisfaction of being able to start and finish a project in less than an hour. I will definitely be making more of these.

Pardon the bad photos, but I was so excited about how this project turned out I couldn't wait to post the photos. I realized the other week that our diaper bag is really too big now. Mostly when we go places, all we need are a few diapers, a cup, and maybe a snack trap. Instead of just getting a smaller diaper bag, I decided to make Judah carry his own stuff. I briefly thought about trying to wing this pattern, but when I saw the perfect backpack pattern already made up, I realized that it would be much, much easier just to buy it. I bought this robot fabric a while back but hadn't found a project I was willing to use it in. Since it's just a quilting weight fabric, I used a medium interfacing and also made a lining for it. The pattern was fabulous. Great descriptions, excellent photos, and she included a few alterations as well - the optional lining and a larger version that will fit an 8.5 X 11 folder. I think I'm going to make the bigger one next. I love the padd...

Today was sort of a tough day. Nothing overwhelmingly bad happened; a variety of things just transpired in such a way that I spent most of the afternoon sad. I really have been doing well lately. I'm feeling good, getting more excited about what our future holds, and finally feeling like I can move past this. Then today rolled around. The women's bible study I'm a part of is studying the book of James. We're using a Beth Moore study and this is actually the first Beth Moore study I've ever done. (I feel like I'm going to get kicked out of the female evangelical club for saying that, but it's true.) I was sort of rushing to finish all the homework this week since I missed the last two meetings, and didn't really get to appreciate all the great teaching that was there. Since we are spending two weeks of discussion on each week of the study, we have time for plenty of discussion.I was especially thankful today that the other women could point out the nugg...

I realize this post is two days late, but hey - I'm working again this week and it's been a long one. Thankfully, I had a light day yesterday and was able to come home early and spend some wonderful time with my two valentines. This cute one here learned an important lesson yesterday - if your hands stay wet for too long your fingers become raisins. He was highly concerned about the wrinkles. My other valentine ordered some beautiful tulips. The last few months I have just been so proud of him. He continues to wait on God's timing patiently - much more patiently than I do - while looking for a new job, a task which he has poured a lot of energy into. In spite of the frustrations with our presbytery, he has continued to work to bless our little church even though he is not allowed to do the preaching that he loves. He teaches TWO different bible studies and was recently elected a ruling elder. He also is in charge of our church's search committee and is doing his b...

Judah may be on the slower end of the language acquisition, but man - he sure can operate a fork. Yay for fine motor skills!

I love giving handmade gifts. I especially love all the handmade gifts I was able to give this year at Christmas. The downside, though, of so many homemade gifts is that after Christmas my desire to make anything is completely gone. Even if there were occasions that normally would compel me to make something - I just can't. I decided that sometime around the fourth pair of pajama pants I was making on Christmas Eve, my sewing mojo just vanished. I'm happy to say that it's back, though. It walked back into my life this week and bit me. Big time. This week, I made a knitting needle holder for Jeff's Grandma (just a few weeks late for her birthday), and these two adorable baby dresses - gifts for some new and almost here babies. I decided that I really hope to have a daughter one day because the girl-related sewing just kills me with its cuteness. Ric-rac hemline! What could be cuter. Of course, I found the pattern on pinterest . Diaper cover tutorial found here ....

With starting back to work right after Christmas and then everything that followed, I never got to post some of our Christmas photos. I had meant to, and then our camera battery was dead and we lost the charger. Several weeks and one new charger later, here they are! In addition to the other handmade gifts that I did, because my whole family was going to be together, I wanted to make matching pajamas for all 4 boys. Because I had to make four sets of whatever I did, I definitely didn't want to do anything too complicated. But I was pleased with how they turned out. I made some very simple flannel pants and then embellished shirts. The shirt design was one I came up with on my own, and was very simple - three overlapping circles and a bit of ric-rac. Ric-rac makes everything cuter, I've decided. For the pants, I used my favorite tutorial , which is very straightforward and easy. When there are no pockets, zippers, or buttons involved, making pants can actually be very easy....

I feel like Judah is changing so fast these days that if I don't record what he's doing then I won't remember all the really cute things. 1. Talking! He is really starting to talk a lot more. He has started to do this adorable thing when he wants me to hold him where he will stretch his arms up to me and say, "Me-me". The way he holds his arms open so wide and looks up at me just makes me melt every time. Yesterday when I was making dinner, he followed me around saying "up please" for a while before I figured out that's what he was saying. I have been working to get him to say please, so I feel bad that it took me so long to realize that's what he saying. He is getting new words every day and getting better and better at saying the old ones. I love hearing his sweet little voice. 2. Singing! He really loves listening to singing and I'm trying to sing more kid songs around the house with him. "The wheels on the bus" is a favorit...

1. I watched the Super Bowl at my parent's house, which was great. We ate pizza, noodles, and homemade guacamole. Yum. Not that I really cared, but I was glad the NY won. For whatever reason, I just can't cheer for the Patriots. (Although I do like Tom Brady....) I was glad that all my reading of Sports Illustrated really paid off as I got to teach my dad about automatic safeties and knew what college Tom Brady went to. 2. This whole mess with Komen and Planned Parenthood has just made my blood boil at numerous points this week. Reading comments on news stories at places like MSNBC or Slate is definitely a bad idea for a conservative like me. Of course, I am strongly pro-life and the rhetoric against the pro-life community this week has been maddening. (I love how our "unbiased" media writes about "pro-choice" groups and "anti-choice" groups. That's not biased at all.) It seems crazy to me that an anti breast cancer organization would give mo...

I give a lot of bad news. I guess it's par for the course of a hospitalist. I have told people they were dying of cancer. Told loved ones a patient had just passed away. Had countless frank bedside conversations with patients and families about mortality. Today I had to tell a 38+ week pregnant lady her baby had died. With all my experience giving bad news, that is one piece of bad news I've never had to give before. I got called into her room as the in house ultrasound expert because the residents were having a hard time finding a heart beat. I looked for a long time, and all I could see was a baby that was very still. Too still. And then I told her. She cried; I wanted to hold her and cry along too. It is easy to think that my struggles are hard until I am given the task of telling someone else devastating news. I am praying for this family tonight.